Baby, O baby, fain you are for bed; Magpie to mopoke busy as the bee;The little red calf"s in the snug cow-shed, And the little brown bird"s in the tree.
Daddy"s gone a-shearing down the Castlereagh, So we"re all alone now, only you and me.
All among the wool-O; keep your wide blades full-O !
Daddy thinks of baby, wherever he may be.
Baby, my baby, rest your drowsy head;
The one man that works here, tired you must be; The little red calf"s in the snug cow-shed,And the little brown bird"s in the tree.
-Louis Esson
Author.-Louis Esson, or, to give him his full name, Thomas Louis Buvelot Esson, was born in 1879 at Edinburgh, and was brought to Victoria when he was but a child. He is now living in Melbourne. His verses have appeared in Bells and Bees(T. C. Lothian) and Red Gums (Fraser and Jenkinson). He has written also several short Australian plays, among them Dead Timber.
General Notes.-What does "magpie to mopoke " mean? Whereis daddy and what is he doing? Who is singing the song? Is there any sadness in it? What makes you think so?